HOW KWARA CHIEF OF STAFF APPOINTMENT WAS AMBUSHED — THE PLOT, THE BREWING SIBLING RIVALRY

The widely speculated appointment of Prince Mohammed Abdulkadir Mahe as Chief of Staff to Kwara State governor, Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq would not be confirmed, INSIDER can authoritatively report.

Although the name of Prince Mahe had gone round last Thursday, September 3, as the new COS to the governor, with many already trouping to his residence to offer their congratulations, the governor later made up his mind not to confirm the appointment.

A source who spoke to INSIDER confided in our reporter how the appointment first came about. According to the source, “The appointment was initiated by Alhaji Isiaka Abdulrazaq, the brother to the governor. He was the same person who nominated the deputy governor, so His Excellency was conscious of being seen as someone whose key appointments were made for him by his brother. The governor wants to use this case to assert himself.
“Added to this was the fact that the governor was not happy that the appointment came out in public before the official announcement, something that he perceived as armtwisting him and presenting him with a faitaccompli.”

The source, who craves anonymity, also detailed the roles played by other competing interests around the governor, especially those who lobbied for the same Chief of staff position.

While Prince Mahe was already receiving congratulatory visits from friends and well-wishers, others who were interested in the position, and whose name where considered alongside his, were at work, going round to dig for information to discredit the ‘new’ chief chief of staff.

According to our source, “Other people who felt they should get the position went to work to smear the speculated chief of staff. For example, there were reports that Prince Mahe retired as a permanent secretary from the state civil service. But his adversaries went to work and discovered he was never a permanent secretary, because he didn’t pass the examination at the time.”

Aside not being happy with being preempted on the Chief of staff appointment, sources said the governor was no longer comfortable with the undisguised influence of his brother, Isiaka Abdulrazaq on official matters.

“In a way, this may signal the beginning of sibling rivalry, because while Isiaka Abdulrazaq was already saying there would be consequences if the governor embarrasses him by dropping his nominee (Prince Mahe) in this manner, the governor on the other hand is preoccupied with ensuring that the public does not perceive him as a stooge who is being dictated to by his brother,” a gov’t house source said.

Balkis Tijani